TEHRAN (Iran News) – Heidar Ali Balouji, Iran’s permanent envoy to the United Nations, slammed Saudi Arabia for failing to implement the IAEA safeguard regime.
“Concerns about Saudi Arabia’s leaked nuclear activities and identification of its nuclear sites hidden in desert require international collective efforts, so much so that Saudi Arabia be held accountable for the consequences of its behaviors,” Balouji said, Press TV reported on Tuesday.
He said a “steady” rather than “selective” implementation of the Safeguards will serve the international community in the long run.
“The international community must ask Riyadh to immediately implement the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements in full.”
The envoy said a cessation of international nuclear assistance for Saudis would be the only way to allay these concerns.
“This lack of transparency in Saudi Arabia’s activities definitely violates the entire Safeguards regime,” he added.
Saudi Arabia’s clandestine nuclear program, which had been revealed by whistle-blowers, was recently confirmed by satellite images showing a large compound, in a suspicious location in the middle of the desert, a checkpoint, towering security fences, a big building about 150 feet on a side and pools for the collection of uranium waste; a typical blueprint for yellow-cake mills.
The Wall Street Journal uncovered the facility constructed in a remote area in Saudi Arabia for extracting uranium yellow-cake from uranium ore. Ironically, the facility is located near a solar-panel production area.
Observers say such undeclared nuclear capabilities in the hands of the KSA are extremely worrying, in light of the abysmal Saudi human rights record, and that the last thing anyone would wish for is a nuclear armed KSA.
Last month, the Guardian revealed that Saudi Arabia may be in possession of enough mineable uranium ore to produce nuclear fuel.
According to confidential documents prepared by Chinese geologists for the kingdom and seen by the Guardian, Riyadh now possesses so much uranium ore reserves that it can start domestic production of nuclear fuel.
- source : Tasnim, Iran News
